1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet apparatus including a tube for supplying ink from an ink tank to a recording head.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet printing apparatus including a tube (supply tube) for supplying ink in an ink tank to a recording head is known in the art. In such an apparatus, it is necessary to separately perform manipulation for fixing the recording head to a carriage and manipulation for connecting the recording head and the supply tube to each other. That is, an operator (user) must perform a plurality of manipulations. In addition, connection between the recording head and the supply tube may be defective depending on the manipulation procedure, which may result in leakage of the ink and intrusion of air into the supply tube.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-200595 discloses an inkjet printer including a unit that completes fixing a recording head in position and connecting a supply tube to the recording head in conjunction with a single operation for closing a manipulating member such as a carriage cover.
In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-200595, when the recording head is to be taken out of a carriage, the carriage cover is rotated to open in order to decouple a joint portion at which the recording head and the supply tube are connected. In this event, the supply tube jointed is also rotated in conjunction with the cover, which pushes the tube to be bent in a direction away from the carriage. At this time, the supply tube bent in a direction away from the carriage is subjected to an extra stress, and a force (restoration force) for restoring the original shape of the tube is generated by the elasticity of the tube itself. This results in a force (reaction force) that acts in a direction opposite the direction of opening the carriage cover, which may make it difficult to hold the cover open and take out the recording head.